Automatic coupling for signal, air, and steam between cars.



E. R. SHELDON. `-AU'IOMNIIUGOUPLING POR SIGNAL,` AIB, AND STEAM BETWEEN GARS.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 11, 1910.4

Patented Apr. 18, 1911 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

' wmvfssss mom/fr0 P. R. SHBLDON. AUTOMATIC coUPLING F011 SIGNAL, A1B, AND STEAM BETWEEN 0111s APPLmATioN FILED' Nov. 11, 1910.

Patented Apr. 18, 1911.`

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

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TfTRNEYS 'UN-iran #STATES PATENT. onirica.

FORREST RICHARD SHELIDON, OF NEW. H'HVEN, CONNECTICUT.

.UTOMATIC COUPLING FOB SIGNAL, AIR, AND STEAM BETWEEN Specification of Letters Patent. .Patented Apl. 18, 1911.

Application filed November 11, 1910. Serial No. 591,846.

y To all whom #may concern:

Be it known that I, Foimns'i RICHARD SHELDON, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of New Haven, vin the county 'of New Haven and State of Connecticut, have invented a new and Improved Automatic Coupling for Signal, Air, and Steam Be .tween Cars, of which the following is a full,

` clear, and exact description.

My plings of the kind used between cars for automaticallyv making connections relative to the transmission of signals, and also the passage f ot' steam, air and the like from one car to lanother.

' purpose above indicated, the purpose of said improvements being to improve the general eliciency of said coupling.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specilication, in which similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure 1 is a view partly in side elevation and partly in section, on the line 1 of Fig. 2,

'ried by another looking toward the top of the sheet, and

-showing my iinproved'coupling as mounted upon one end of a car; Fig. 2 is a horizontal section on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1, looking in thedirection of the arrow; and showing the addition of the mating coupling member cai'- car; Fig. -3 is an enlarged vertical section through the coupling head; and Fig. l is a perspective of the coupling head.

At 5 is a car platform supported upon beams 5a which extend lengthwise of the car. At 6 is a head block carryin a head plate 7. The head block and head p ate are together provided with a slot 8, as will be understood from Fi 1, provide with a tongue 10 extending into Ithe slot 8, the butler plate 9 being further provided with aportion 11 supporting the tongue 10 andwith other portions, one of invention relates to automatic cou-- At 9 is a butler plate which is which is shown at 12, bv aid whereof the buffer plate is guided and otherwise' held 'in osition. The buffer plate 9 is mounted in )utter rods 13 which extend through the head plate 7 and head block 6, so as to allow the butter late more or less playrelatively to the heat block.

connected with the head block and. extending l The head block 6 is pro' vided upon its under side with a slot 14 and from this slot is a stirrup 15 having substantially a U-itorm, as will be understood from Figs. 1 and 2.

At. 1G, 16 are each other, and as they are of identical construction, only one of them will be described.'

The coupling head 1G is provided with a number of separate passages .17, 18, 19, each of substantially cylindrical form, the passages 18, 19 having successively greater diameters than the passage 17, as will be understood from Fig. 3. The coupling head 16 is further provided with a number of other passages 20, 21, 22, also of substantially cy-4 lindrical form, these passages merging into the passages 17, 18. 19 and being of slightly greater diameter than the lat-ter.4 The assages 1T, single passage diameter and extending p longitudinally through this passage is a tube 23,

Another two coupling heads mating 20 constitute together practical y a having portions of different tube 24E having a diameter slightly greater than the tube 23 extends through the passage 18, 21 which likewise constitute practically a single passage. Similarly the'pas sages 19, oonstitutein .substance a single passage through which still greater diameter. v The tubes' 23, 24 25 are respectively provided with' portions 26, 27, 28 of increased diameter, these portions' respectively terminating in annular shoulders 2G, 27, 282t which are adapted to "engage adjacent portionsv of the coupling head 1G. y

At 29 is a perforated plate to which the several tubes 23, 24, 25 are secured. The plate 29 is provided with annular gaskets 30, 31, 32 concentric to the tubes 23, 24, 25 and substantially in registry therewith, as will be understood from Fig. 3. A number of s iral or compression springs 33, 3 4, 35

extends a tube 25 of are tted neatly around the tubes 23, 2425, and are lodged severally inthe cylindrical passages'20, 21, 22. These springs engage the adjacent surfaces 'of the plate 29 and tend to lforce this plate'slightly away from the coupling yhead 16. This coupling head is provided with tongues 36, 37, each having a substantially triangular form, as indicated in Fig. 4. The coupling head is further provided with slots 38, 39. each of a substantially triangular form and disposed as indicated in Fig. 4.

`i7i7hen two of the coupling heads 16, 16a

` are placed together as indicated in Fig. 2, the

tongues26 of one coupling head lit into the slots 38 of the other coupling head, and vice versa, thereby fitting the two heads neatly together. Each coupling head is provided with bearings 40, 41 and extending through these bearings are pivot pins 42. Guide rods 43, 44 are secured to these pins and extend radially backward from the coupling head, as will be understood from Figs. 1 and 2.

At 45 are brackets which are, by aid of bolts 46, secured upon the beams 5a, or at some other appropriate point upon the framework. rl`he guide rods 43 extend loosely through the brackets 45 which for. this purpose are provided with holes. The brackets 45 are in this instance made of angle iron bent back upon itself and provided With integral port-ions 47 which serve as braces. The ends of the guide rods 43 opposite the coupling head 16 are threaded and are fitted with nuts 48, 49. The nut 48 may be turned and thereby, Within certain limits, adjusted at the will of the operator; and when this is done, the nut 49 is tightened against the nut 48, thereby locking it firmly in position. ,'Cotter pins 50 extend through the ends of the guide rods 43 and prevent the -nuts 48, 49 from being lost4 y accidentally.

The tube 23 is associated with the socalled. signal pipe used in railway trains. The s1gnal pipe is, usually quite small and on that account I make the tube 23 ot' comparatively small diameter.V The tubes 24, 25 are associated respectively with the air pipe and the steam pipe, the tube 25 being of larger diameter than the tube 24 for the reason that the steam pipe is generally g1ven a greater diameter than the air pipe. The various pipes used for signal, airand steam are respectively connected with the several portions 26, 27 and 28 of enlarged diameter, and thus made practically con tinuous with the respective tubes 23, 24, 25.

Whenever the plate 29 is pressed toward the coupling head 16 the various springs 23, 24, 25 are slightl compressed. When two coupling heads rfor example, 16, 16a, Fig.. 2) are pressed together, so that the tongues 36, 37 enter the respective slots 38, 39, as above described, the gaskets 30,31, 32 carried by the plate 29 of one coupling head engage the corresponding gaskets carried by the' plate 29 of the other coupling head, and thus form'gastight connections between the respective gaskets thus forced together. The coupling up of any two coupling heads 16,

16a, therefore causes the tubes 23,24, 25 of one coupling head to practically become continuous with the similar tubes carried by the other coupling head. rI'he pressure of the various springs 33, 34, 35, acting against the plate 29, as above described, causes each gasket 30, 31, to be pressed tightly and constantly against the corresponding or mating gasket'carried' by the other coupling head, so that the connection from each tube 23, 24,

to the correspondingV tube carried by the other coupling head is rendered continuous and reliable so long as the two coupling heads are joined together.

At 51 are spiral springs which encircle the 4guide rods 43. At' 52 are set ycollars carried by the guide rods and engaged bythe adjacent ends of the springs 51. These springs at their other ends bear respectively against the bhaekets 45. The tendency of the springs 51 is force the guide rods 43 to the right according to Figs. 1 and 2. This causes the coupling head 16 to normallyv pro trude slightly-beyond the stirrup 15 associated with Vilhen; however, two cars are brought together as above described, so that the gaskets 30, 31, of the coupling head carried by one car jam against the mating gaskets of the coupling head carried by the other car, the springs 51 are compressed, the guide rods 43 are driven back, the coupling head 16 moves slightly in relation to the stirrup 15, and the plate 29 carrying the va-y rious Vtubes 23, 24, 25 is driven slightly to the left according to F i 2. A

At 53 is shown an ordinary coupling -for securing the cars together in the usual manner. The parts are so proportioned that before the ordinary coupling locks, the coupling heads associated with tubes 23, 24, 25 are pushed back a little relatively to the stir-v rups 15; or, in other words, the springs 51 are compressed, the guide rod 43 protruding a little through the brackets 45. i

The operation of my device is as follows: A car being equipped with coupling heads. 16, 16ii at its opposite ends, and being coupled in the'usual manner with `another car,

the mere pushing together of the two cars causes the coupling head 16 of one car to engage the coupling head 16a of the other car, the various pipes 51, 52, 53 of one car being thus practically coupled to the corresponding pipes of the other car.

l The device may be used with air, or steam, or signal, or with all or any two of them.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1; The combination of a coupling head provided with a tongue extending therefrom, and further provided with a slot f or receiving a tongue from another coupling head, said rst mentioned coupling head being further provided with passages extending yphng head, thereby through it, tubes: extenda through said passages and removable' re atively `to said first-mentioned coupling head, aplate connected with said tubes, and means for forcprovided with a passage having bot a small.

diameter and a larger diameter, a tube extending through said passage and provided with 'a shoulder for engagin the adjacent surface of said coupling hea a spring disposed within said passage of larger dlameter, and a plate engaging said spring and movable relatively to said coupling head,

3. The combination of a coupling, a head rovided with a assage having both a small diameter and a arger diameter, a tube extending through said passage and provided with a` shoulder, for engaging the adjacent surface of said coupling head, a lspring disposed within said passage of larger diameter, a plate engaging said sprin and movable relatively to said coupling ead, and a 'gasket carried by said late and secured to the'adjacent end of sai tube.

4. The combination'of a coupling head I provided with passages extending entirely through it, a p urality of tubes extending through said passages, one of said tubes having greatery diameter than another, a plate mounted' upon all of said tubes, and

gaskets carried by said plate and-disposed in substantial registry 'with said tubes. f

5. The lcombination of a coupling head provided with assages extending entirely through it, a plurality of tubes extending ,through said passages and provided with shoulders, one of said tubes having a diameter greater than another, a plate connected with all of said tubes, and provided with openings in registry with said tubes, and spring mechanism engaging said coupling head `and also engagin sald plate for the pur ose of normally ho din said tubes in. a pre etermined pos1tion re latively to said coupling head.

G. The combination of a coupling head, guide rods pivotally connected therewith,

brackets slidably engaged by said guide rods,.

springs engaging said brackets and connected with said guide rods for normallyV holding said guide rods in predetermined positions relatively to said brackets, and tubes extending through said coupling head for facilitating the passage of fluid bodies therethrough.`

In testimony whereof I have narne to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

I roaaasr RICHARD saELDoN.

Witnesses:

LAWRENCE F. GRADY, SAM. S. BYERS.

signed my 

